Sloppy Joes

Last weekend we put 4 meat loaves in the freezer. This weekend we made four batches of Sloppy Joes.  The Sloppy Joe recipe was from a post on March 16, 2011:
http://thesuburbanchallenge.blogspot.com/search?q=sloppy+joe

We love this recipe (even Steve).

It is a lot more fun to help mommy when you can stir with an Elmo Spatula! I had made the cauliflower puree two days ago, so when Camilla and I made two batches at a time it only took us one hour to get all four ready for the freezer. That averages 15 minutes per meal.  Once thawed, they are ready to reheat and serve on a bun.
These spatulas are now on clearance at Williams-Sonoma along with Elmo cookie cutters we used last week to eat our meat loaf.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sesame-street-cookie-monster-elmo-flexible-spatulas/?pkey=cview-all-sale

Hey Camilla....How do you like your green beans and corn now?

I am so tired of the nightly battle to get Camilla to eat anything other than fish sticks or chicken nuggets.  So I took her green beans and corn (one can of each that I had previously cooked on the stove with a little butter) and put them into the food processor with one egg and one cup of Belgian waffle mix.

Ha Ha....I feel so sneaky.

Sunday afternoon and a bag of Sweet Potatoes

One bag of sweet potatoes and five meals....here we go.

First, to make all of the meals we need cooked, pureed potatoes.  Wash and roast the whole bag at the same time at 400 degrees for about 1 hour.

Allow the potatoes to cool and then peal the skins off by hand or scoop the flesh out with a spoon.

 

Now they are ready to puree.  You can do this by hand (the hardest way), in a food mill, in a potato ricer, or in a food processor.

 

Recipe #1:

Slow Cooker Meatloaf.

This is a recipe that I posted on this blog February 2011.  It is easy and very tasty.  It uses 1/2 cup of sweet potato puree per meat loaf.  I want to make four and freeze them so I put 2 cups aside for the meat loaves.

*2012 revelation.  When I made this recipe, Camilla was still on a liquid diet and Mommy and Daddy loved the recipe.  Well, now I have a picky 2 1/2  year old.  So, I made this recipe per the blog.  Then I sliced off a skinny piece and let Camilla cut out an Elmo and Cookie Monster with her new cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma. Then I pan fried the face and decorated with ketchup.

It worked.  She ate Elmo and half of Cookie Monster until she hit the texture of a mushroom.  Reflection: on the next meatloaf I need to puree the entire recipe in the food processor before forming into a loaf in the slow cooker.  This will address all of the texture issues and make it more of a hamburger consistency even though it is full of sweet potato and mushrooms.

Recipe #2:
I used the remaining sweet potatoes for dinner that evening.
Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Once I pureed the potatoes, I placed them into a Crock Pot on low to reheat and added:
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir occasionally and keep warm.
I served this on the side of a roasted flank steak.

Sunday afternoon: Sweet potatoes and flank steak...then put four meatloaves in the freezer.( I know the grammar rule for words that end in F when they become plural change to V.  But, does Meatloaves look right to anyone?)

 



http://thesuburbanchallenge.blogspot.com/search?q=slow+cooker+meat

Merry Christmas

A brief reflection on 2012......

The year started out with a baby on the way and Steve unemployed. Steve found a job in February, but started working second shift in April, the same time Rex was born.  To say the year was hard, is an understatement.  Last December, when things seemed to be at their lowest, my coworker/friend Michelle who sells 31 Bags always sells her samples that she takes to parties to clear out patterns that are going to be discontinued or discounted bags that the monogramming was wrong.  I am a 31 junkie as it is, so to add a couple of bags to my collection at a discount is a bonus. One of the bags I really liked was a larger bag, lined with washable material, with a Carolina Blue interior and a Navy exterior.  A perfect, boy diaper bag.  It was in her $5 pile because it had been monogrammed with a bible verse. I thought, heck, a bag this nice for only $5, I don't care what is on it.  I went home and told Steve about it. We are both Christians, but I will admit that neither one of us really knew the bible or all that it empowers us. He told me I had better look that verse up before I started advertising it across town. Point taken. So, I grabbed the bible off the shelf and found Philippians 4 (to be honest I had to look in the table of contents to see where Philippians even was). The bag read "Phil. 4"  so here is what I read  aloud to Steve...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I almost teared up.  With his loss of job and a baby on the way, stressed out was an understatement. I started turning to God more realizing that in calmness and peace there would be answers.  I realized that my life wasn't over. In fact, it is just beginning.  Call it the Christmas Spirit or a lightening of the soul, but that bag was exactly the hope and the "wink" I needed to turn to God for 2012. Steve found a job with Wells Fargo in February.  Steve and I both started listening to KLove only in the house and in the car.  We both felt that it impacted our outlook and was guiding us through hard times successfully. Then in May, doctors found a lump on Steve's bladder.  He had it removed and the verse continued to be a constant song.  Steve was cancer free and back to work after four weeks. A year later, Steve and I enjoy listening to KLove, Joel Olsteen, and we are trying to support our church through large transitions. He still works second shift, but we make it work.  All my expertise at making ahead meals has really paid off.  For most evenings, I do everything by myself. I love still being able to eat healthy, home cooked meals despite the crazy blessing of two in diapers

So, back to my bag.  I went back to school that day and bought the bag for a large $5. Not only was that bag a good deal, I feel like it was placed there to be mine.  Phil. 4 is now my favorite verse. I actually put it on a sticky note on my computer to read throughout the day. I am quite proud to advertise it across town. After all, as we have always said... "I can only do one thing at a time." Right now, stressing out is not going to get any of it done. Do not be anxious about anything....

12 Days of Christmas for your Spouse

In addition to setting up Camilla's 12 Days of Christmas activity jar, I decided to surprise my husband with the 12 days of Christmas gift.  I didn't post this earlier because I didn't want to spoil his surprise.  (That is the naive assumption that he reads my Blog.) Anyways, I started yesterday....with One Waffle Maker.  Here is a free printable pdf of labels to use.


http://todaysmama.com/2011/12/printable-12-days-of-christmas-tags/

12 Days of Christmas Activity Jar

 

Every Christmas, across the nation, people reach out to help and to give to those in need. Now with a Two Year-Old, my goal is ever clear at this time, that I need to be doing everything I can to raise a responsible citizen with a servant's heart.

 

This year for Christmas, I have decided to create a new tradition of activities for the 12 Days of Christmas. Starting December 12th, I will let Camilla draw an activity out of our jar. This was an activity that our Church created recently at a party and I thought the idea was perfect.  The church provided a list of ideas, but I changed a couple of them for things that I knew we were going to be doing soon.  I am really excited about creating a new tradition in our family that is built more on celebrations, rather than presents on the 25th.

1 mason jar
1 paint pen
stickers

I wrote the words "12 Days of Christmas" and then let Camilla decorate with the stickers.
We then wrote 12 activities, each on a different slip of paper, and placed them in the jar.

1. Go to the Library and check out Christmas Books.
2. Color a nativity Scene together.
3. Make Christmas Cards.
4. Make a Christmas ornament.
5. Wrap presents together.
6. Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
7. Decorate a Gingerbread House.
8. Write Santa a letter.
9. Make gift tags for presents.
10. Make Christmas cookies.
11. Make a gift for teachers.
12. Watch a Christmas movie together.


Other things that we have done to help Camilla realize that Christmas is fun, but not just about her.....
1. We had a party at the house where we asked all guest to bring a gift for the Empty Stocking Fund. Toys went under the tree during the party. Although Camilla kept checking them out, we explained who they were for. I'm not sure if she got it, but she did realize that they were not hers.  The next day we took a family trip to the YMCA to deliver the toys. Camilla carried one in all by herself and placed it in the pile.
2. Every time we see a Salvation Army Bell Ringer I am giving Camilla money to donate. It is sometimes only 10 cents, but she's got the idea now that we give money when we hear the "Jingle Bells."

December 13th Update.....Camilla drew out "Make A Christmas Ornament"
I had Camilla finger-paint her thumb onto a Sand dollar.  Then I drew in the antlers and face with a permanent marker and hot-glued a ribbon.  What makes this spontaneous activity work is that you need to look around the house and use things that you have.  I didn't have brown paint, but I had purple and orange.  I had some ribbon that was previously tied to some cookie cutters.  And, yes, I just had sand dollars laying around. (I have a large vase in my room full of shells I have collected over the years.  I wasn't going to miss six shells.)



 

Can you tell which ones I let Camilla do all by herself?